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February 07, 2016

Sheryl Axelrod, co-chair of Advocacy of the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms, crunches the numbers to make the business case for diversity in the workplace.

Axelrod’s presentation was part of the ABA Midyear Meeting program, “Why GOOD Guys — Guys Overcoming Obstacles to Diversity — Are So Important,” on Friday, Feb. 5, in San Diego.

Axelrod’s presentation followed a panel discussion on the important role of males in advancing women in the legal profession. Speakers included Alan Bryan, senior associate general counsel for WalMart Stores, Inc.; Bill Sailer, senior vice president and legal counsel for Qualcomm; Tom Sager, partner at Ballard Spahr and former general counsel of DuPont; and retired Chief Judge Irma Gonzalez of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. Malissia Clinton, general counsel for the Aerospace Corporation, moderated the discussion.

Before the panel discussion, Joan C. Williams, Hastings Foundation chair at University of California, Hastings College of the Law shared her latest research and her four-step process for interrupting bias in the workplace.

The program was sponsored by the National Conference of Women’s Bar Associations and co-sponsored by the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession, the Lawyers Club of San Diego and California Women Lawyers.